E nga mana, e nga reo, e nga karangaranga maha, tena tatou katoa.

I am pleased to join the crew and contribute and honour the legacy created by Kitty 30 years ago – Challenge 2000. Testament to this kaupapa is the support of the Catholic Church and the calibre of amazing staff. I look forward to being part of the team and continuing to build on the potential of rangatahi and whanau in the community.

My personal philosophy is underpinned by manaakitanga. Mana is generally accepted as meaning prestige. Aki is similar to the word awhi meaning to support. In essence – supporting the mana of others or empowering people. As a restorative practitioner manaakitanga is a key focus.

I was born into serving and working within social services and have had a range of jobs including being a cleaner at family homes while studying; working for CYFS in various roles for 20 plus years; consultancy role delivering an outcome focussed system called Results, Based, Accountability (R.B.A) to Whanau Ora collectives; tutoring the National Diploma in Youth Work (L6) and most  recently head of pastoral care and managing Te Aute College hostel for 5 years.

I am indeed blessed to have had a full education of life experiences from bottom up merged with formal qualifications with a Bachelor of Social Work; Adult Diploma in Education and a Diploma in Hypnotherapy to support my practice. I studied Hypnotherapy in Melbourne for self-help and to add another tool to build whanau and rangatahi resilience – not to get people to eat onions or dance like Elvis – just in case you’re wondering. I am married with 2 daughters and 3 mokopuna.

Ko Whetumaterau te Maunga, Ko Awatere te awa, Ko Horouta te waka, Ko Awatere te marae, Ko Te Aotaihi te whare Tipuna, Ko Te Whanau o Tuwhakairiora te hapu, Ko Ngati Porou te iwi, Mauriora!